Method of making weather strip



Jan. 16, 1945. w. M. OLSON METHOD OF MAKING WEATHERSTRIP Filed April 50. 1942 Patented 3m. is, 1945 ass-Iss1 METHOD or mama wss'ruaa s-rarr William M.

Olson, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Nellie F. Harnly, Chicago, Ill. Application April 30. 1942, Serial No. 441,096

2 Claims-.

This invention is directed to improved weatherstrip and the method of making the same and relates particularly to a method and structure which greatly reduces the cost of manufacture and, at the same time, afiords a Weatherstrip of increased eillciency..

Weatherstrip of the character of that here involved is well adapted to use in public conveyances. particularly in railroad cars, and under these circumstances it is sold in quantities measured by length unitsat prices which necessitate a minimum cost of manufacture per unit.

One of the principal objects of myinventlon is to provide a Weatherstrip construction which atfords greatly improved Weatherstripping characteristics and, at the same time, may be manufactured by the utilization of a minimum amount of material at a greatly reduced cost.

Another important object of the invention is to provide Weatherstripping of the above characfer which may be constructed from materials which are readily available on the open market in that they do not have special configurations and formations prior to the steps of forming them into a Weatherstrip in accordance with my'invention.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a Weatherstrip of substantially circular crosssectioned resilient material with a rigid attachment and holding strip of metal or the like, the latter being affixed to the resilient material to provide a securely assembled, unitary structure without necessitating the presence of auxiliarysecuring elements and without necessitating the pre-conilguration of the parts in any special manner.

Still another object of my a rigid attachment member to a length of resilient, relatively weak Weatherstripping material whereby a portion of said material is secured to the attachment member in such a manner that that portion 50 secured is transformed in the securing operation to compacted, relatively solid form having increased attachment qualit es over the remaining resilient portion of the relatively weakweatherstripping material.

In accordance with the general features of my invention and as a further object of the invention, there is provided herein an improved Weatherstrip construction including an enlarged, resilent Weatherstripping section which may be of circular cross-section and a radially disposed, rigid attachment member formed from metal or the like which is secured to said first named portion solely by means of the co-engagement between said portions without the aid hi additional members tor attaining a secure engagement therebetween, there being an intermediate zone, compressed or loaded to anintermediate degree, to strengthen the Junction between the highly compressed portion and the resilient portion.

Many other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 represents a fragmentary end view of stock in the form it takes invention;

the Weatherstripping prior to its application to my Figure 2 represents a fragmentary end view of 1 securing member stock in the a the attaching and form it takes prior tion;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary end view of the stock shown in Figures 1 and 2 after it has been assem-. bled into aweatherstripping structure in accordance with my invention; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a length of Weatherstrip made in accordance with my invention, similar to that shown in Figure 3 but also showing "the completed section in readiness for attachment toa window or door construction.

It is. to be understood that the embodiment shown herein is for illustrative purposes only and may be modified and changed without departing from the spirit and to its application to my invenforth in the appended claims.

invention is to afllx While, in the preferred form of my invention, the Weatherstripping stock is a cord of resilient sponge rubber having substantially circular crosssection and the clamping member is a metallic strip bent along an intermediate line to form a pair of clamping face members, it is contemplated that other materials may be utilized so long as the enlarged portion is resilient and has weatherprooflng qualities and so long as the attachment flange is of formable material and of sufllcient engage the weatherproofing to provide a rigid flange rigidity to securely material, thereby therefor.

In practicin my invention, a cord ill of resilient springy material, suchas sponge rubber or felt, may be utilized. From Figure 1, it will be seen that this material may be of substantially circular cross-section and is thus readily available on the open market.

uses in various. industries, it is made in very large quantities and thus the die cost involved is of small proportion with-relation to the total output. Under such circumstances the resilient scope of the invention as set Since the resilient, material in this form has-many other practical I material used may be regarded as a "stock" item, thus greatly reducing the cost thereof.

Likewise. as shown in Figure 2, the relatively rigid attachment strip H comprises merely a strip of metal or the like which is bent substantially centrally and longitudinally as at I! to provide a clamping member having a pair of opposed relatively rigid faces I! and it. Thus it will be seen that the clamping member II is also available on the open market as a stock item since metallic strip of an infinite variety of widths is also widely used in industry for other purposes.

In constructing Weatherstrip. as previously explained. it is highly desirable to avoid the -necessity of special configurations, particularly special cross-sectional configurations, since such conflgurations each require a separate die or extruding mold and, as well known to those skilled in the art. such dies and molds often, and usually. are costly to a degree entirely disproportionate to the cost of the material.

Another important factor in the manufacture of Weatherstrip is the avoidance. as far as possible. oi an excessive number of parts and the use of excessive amounts of material, particularly in obtaining a secure Weatherstripping engagement between the actual Weatherstripping agent and the attachment or retaining portion. In this regard, it is highly desirable that the Weatherstripping unit be so constructed that the necessity for an enveloping material for the resilient strip be avoided, so that auxiliary connecting lements between the Weatherstripping material and the-rigid material be avoided and so that a minimum amount of manipulation and manufacturing operations be utilized in forming the completed product.

One of the past diillculties in handling the relatively weak, resilient Weatherstripping materials, particularly with regard to their attachment to more rigid members, has been that the inherent qualities of the Weatherstrippin materials are such that difficulty is encountered in maintaining any attachment attained due to breakage of the Weatherstripping material. For instance, it has been found that to secure sponge rubber or felt Weatherstripping material by means of puncturing the same, as with nails or screws, ultimately results in the tearing of the material, whereby the punctured apertures are unduly enla'rged and the Weatherstripping thus breaks away from the desired attached relationship. In this regard, I have found that when the resilient, relatively weak Weatherstripping material is compressed to a considerable degree, it assumes the characteristics of a solid of considerable density, in which form it is well adapted to be secured to a rigid element in'permanent relationship thereto.

In order that a round, resilient Weatherstripping cord of sponge rubber or the like, such as that shown at ill in Figure 1, may be securely attached to the relatively rigid attachment member ll shown in Figure 2, and to the end that this junction may be obtained without materially changing the cross-sectional configuration of the Weatherstripping material and without materially reducing the dimension thereof, the two parts above described are assembled in the relationship shown in Figure 3. As shown, the inner opposed faces of the face members I3 and ll of the clamping strip l l have been pressed together by further bending at the corner 2 while a longitudinal segment of the resilient element l has been sandwiched therebetween, whereby this seg- [ill ment is drawn out or the normal, cross-sectional confines of the element l0 and is compacted into a dense, relatively strong, solid plate-like pro- ,iection it. As will.be readily understood, the completed Weatherstrip assembly. in use, will utilize a flexing action of the remaining expanded Weatherstripping member about its Junction with the free ends of the element II. From Figure 3, it will be seen that due to the compacting action above described, the resilient material will be compacted not only throughout the plate-like portion I! but also at the portion thereof shown as ifla, which surrounds the above mentioned junction.

Thus there is provided, in eilect. a Weatherstrip assembly in which the resilient member H) has been pressed to provide a highly loaded. relatively solid, strong zone IS, a resilient, springy. weatherprooiing zone It. and an intermediate. partially loaded or compacted zone Illa, the latter affording a junction between zones l5 and I0 which is of increased strength, yet which affords suflicient resiliency to enhance the Weatherstripping action of the completed assembly. The term "loaded as used herein refers to the maintenance of a resilient material under a compressed or compacted condition.

After or during the closing operation of the element II, the face members l3 and i4 thereof are dented or distorted inwardly, as at l6, so that the material thereof is impressed into the attaching plate-like portion l5 to' maintain the same between the face members I: and I4 against slippage outwardly thereof.

As shown in Figure 4, the assembly may be completed by the provision of retaining apertures l1. which are punched through the element II and adapted to receive securing screws or the A comparison of Figures 1 and 3 clearly shows the small degree in the reduction of the overall dimension f the circular Weatherstripping agent Ill.

From the foregoing it will be seen that there is provided herein a unitary Weatherstrip assembly which is constructed from stock materials readily available on the open market and which utilizes only these stock materials to the exclusion of auxiliary members and materials in their co-engagement to provide the unitary structure. Furthermore, it will be seen that there is provided herein an improved weatherproofing assembly and method of constructing the same wherein a portion of the relatively weak weatherproofing material is deformed or loaded by compression and then utilized in its compacted state as a relatively solid flange for receiving the relatively rigid attachment member. Furthermore. the resilient Weatherstripping element ill has been so loaded by compression during the clamping of the face members I3 and it together that an intermediately loaded zone Illa has been provided at the junction between the solidified platelike member I 5 and the still resilient weatherproofing ortion Ill. Thus the intermediate zone Illa, while it is strengthened by being partially loaded to increase the security of the junction between the resilient portion and the solid portion, also retains enough resiliency to permit the necessary compression and expansion of the enlarged weatherprooflng member during use.

What I claim is:

l. The method of forming a Weatherstrip unit from a body of normally expanded, resilient weatherprooflng material which includes draw- 2. The method of forming a Weatherstrip unit from a resilient cord of weatherprooflng material which includes nipping an outer longitudinal segment from said cord to form an integral, radially disposed plate-like flange, loading said flange to compact the same, and maintaining said flange in its compacted state.

WILLIAM M. OLSON. 

